Poland’s pension system faces multiple challenges, including accelerating population aging. Early retirement policy aimed at mitigating mass exit from the labor market led to the rise of pension system economic dependency.
... Exibir mais + Transition to a nonfinancial and financial defined contribution (NDC plus FDC) system in 1999 mitigated the fiscal risk and an unfair balance of interest between the working and retired generations. The new system separated the income allocation and redistribution. The retirement age was raised. However, the implementation of the new system is a case study of misuse for current political goals, ad hoc tweaks, and unfinished topics. Yet the 1999 pension reform met its goals.
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Despite significant efforts to reduce polluting air emissions, during and after the economic transition in the 1990s, Poland remains home to many of the most polluted cities in the European Union (EU).
... Exibir mais + This report examines the nature and magnitude of ambient air pollution (AAP) in Poland. It provides estimates of the health burden, and economic cost associated with the health impacts, of ambient air pollution i.e., particulate matter (PM) both at national and regional or voivodeship levels in Poland. It also explores the roles of various sources of air pollution emissions on ambient air quality in Poland. With emphasis on the critical residential sector, this report analyses the likely impacts of national and EU legislative scenarios on future pollution emissions and ambient air quality in Poland. In addition, the report performs a demonstrative cost-benefit analysis of selected interventions to reduce AAP in residential and transport sectors and from point sources in the voivodeships that bear the heaviest burden of the impacts of AAP. Institutional factors that affect the effectiveness of ambient air quality management are discussed. Finally, policy recommendations for air pollution prevention, reduction and abatement are presented. The current study estimates that 25,280 - 44,811 deaths were caused by ambient PM2.5 pollution in Poland in 2016. The analysis applied two methodologies: (i) the approach from the 2016 Global Burden of Disease study; and (ii) the approach used by the EEA in their 2018 study. GBD studies analyze the health risks attributable to environmental factors, for different years, for most countries by linking environmental factors with the burden of disease attributable to them. Consistent with the GBD methodology, the analysis in this chapter applies a conservative approach by calculating premature, age-specific mortality from five diseases - ischemic heart disease, stroke, COPD, lung cancer, lower respiratory illness, that are directly linked to PM pollution. By contrast, the EEA approach calculates all-cause or non-accidental mortality (i.e., all deaths excluding poisoning, suicide and war), and assumes a linear relationship between mortality and PM concentration for population above age 30. The morbidity health burden is estimated in this report using HRAPIE recommended methodology (WHO, 2013) that focuses on acute bronchitis for children, chronic bronchitis for adults, cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions and lost work days caused by PM air pollution.
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Poland’s capital markets can play a crucial supporting role to the ongoing economic development and efficient allocation of credit. Capital markets will become increasingly important to meet the long-term funding needs of strategic sectors, including large, medium and small entities.
... Exibir mais + Expansion and diversification of capital market instruments and hedging tools will also be essential to provide adequate investment and risk management vehicles to much needed long-term savings. While capital market offers different sources of financing, this note focuses primarily on the fixed income markets. This technical note is structured as follows. Section II covers each of the main market segments, including money markets, government and non-government bond markets and derivatives markets. Section III provides an examination of the investor base, the current participation of the different investor segments in the bond markets, and recommendations to reach broader and more effective investor diversification. The Section IV is focusing on the critical reform of the Employee Capital Plan (PPK), as one critical group of institutional investors.
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Since the introduction of the KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand in 2006, several countries have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, voluntary funded pension systems with automatic enrollment features.
... Exibir mais + Since most of the literature has focused on countries with the common law tradition, including the United Kingdom and the United States, this note analyzes cases of countries with the civil code tradition, including Turkey, Poland, the Russian Federation, Chile, Brazil, and the Province of Quebec in Canada. This sample includes mostly emerging economies, with reforms at different stages, from those that have already been completed to those that are about to start discussions in their parliaments. Although they are not a substitute for necessary parametric reforms, automatic enrollment schemes offer the possibility of improvements in future retirement income for a significant part of the labor force. This note stresses that the paternalistic approach of automatic enrollment schemes imposes a great degree of responsibility on governments and requires careful consideration of the design of the system, including the industrial organization of the pension fund industry and default investment strategies. Sufficient time and resources for preparing communication and educational campaigns has played a key role in achieving high rates of participation.
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This paper examines the patterns of growth of Poland, and its transition into high-income status over the past two decades from a macro and micro perspective.
... Exibir mais + It benchmarks Polish performance with that observed in established high-income countries, and with that of others that have been trapped in middle--income levels and examines the role that integration into the EU had on growth. The analysis reveals, first, that Poland’s growth process has been accompanied by a process of diversification of assets, including institutions, physical and human capital. Second, that the progressive integration into the EU bloc boosted growth and productivity because of three keyfactors: (i) increased openness to trade, investment and talent, (ii) increased domestic competition, and regulatory harmonization with EU, (iii) increased certainty in reforms, through a commitment to EU-institutions. Third, that for full convergence to high-income levels, Polish firms need to increase their innovative capacities. The paper extracts lessons applicable to other economies trapped in middle-income levels, as well as to Poland itself to consolidate growth looking forward.
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This report explores options to scale up and accelerate the energy transition to cleaner electricity and district heating generation mixes and reconcile the government’s concerns over the serious local air pollution and commitments to combat climate change.
... Exibir mais + The report draws three main conclusions from the analyses and consultations carried out during the last six months: Despite impressive progress towards sustainability, Poland’s coal-dominated energy sector imposes heavy health costs on its population. A recent World Bank report estimated that the cost of ambient air pollution amounts to about USD 31-40 billion, equivalent to 6.4-8.3 percent of GDP in 2016. Moreover, deterioration of ambient air quality is responsible for a significant health burden with an estimated 44,500 premature deaths per year. The ambitious cleaner strategy to scale up renewable energy sources in the power and district heating generation mix is economically justified, if local and global environmental benefits are accounted for. Poland is moving in the right direction on energy transition with its envisioned targets on renewable energy, but achieving the more ambitious targets under the European Union Emission Trading Scheme requires intensified efforts to scale up and accelerate the penetration of clean energy. Active labor market policies can help mitigate employment impacts, which are expected to be negligible at national level and modest at local level given a dynamic economy and tight labor.
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Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 covers 11 areas of business regulation.
... Exibir mais + Ten of these areas - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency - are included in the ease of doing business score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. Doing Business provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. This economy profile presents indicators for Poland; for 2019 Poland ranks 33.
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The purpose of this position paper is to: (i) assess key interventions in innovation policy indicated in the strategy for responsible development (SRD) endorsed in 2017, and (ii) identify and analyze areas that can result in the World Bank’s engagement with Polish authorities.
... Exibir mais + To assess the rationale of actions defined in the SRD, the analysis starts with an overview of Poland’s innovation system, including information on performance according to innovation-relevant indicators, existing programs financing innovation, the innovation governance system, and the legal framework for innovation. The second section identifies areas in which the World Bank can provide technical assistance based on its global experience.
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Regulatory policy is essential for economic growth and social welfare. Regulations are the rules set by the state to govern the daily life of citizens and businesses.
... Exibir mais + Regulatory policy, the prerogative to establish these rules, is a key lever of state power. Poland has made progress in improving the quality of its regulatory processes, but important challenges remain. High quality regulations are essential for a sound legal framework based on certitude, legality, and transparency. The strategy for responsible development (SRD) recognizes the importance of regulation to stimulate economic activity in Poland. As the main policy document for economic transformation, the SRD identifies shortcomings in the current development model and makes proposals on how to address them. The strategy offers a good starting point to identify areas in which the World Bank could engage with the Government of Poland to further support the efforts to strengthen a sound regulatory environment for business. This position paper aims at: (i) assessing some of the current efforts made by the Government of Poland in terms of regulatory policy, particularly affecting business; and (ii) identifying areas of potential engagement between the World Bank and the Government of Poland.
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This book describes the methodology and the main findings and results of the technical assistance that was provided to the Świętokrzyskie region in Poland to strengthen the incidence, duration, and quality of WBL in upper secondary technical education.
... Exibir mais + In line with the existing policy framework and stakeholder preferences, the assistance focused on strengthening work placements, while assuming that the VET school remains the principal driver of training provision. The book aims to fill the knowledge gap on feasible approaches to support the transition from a largely school-based VET system, to training provision that incorporates stronger in-firm learning experiences, in a context where neither schools nor firms have substantial experience in WBL implementation. Relatively extensive literature is available on VET systems that are largely employer-driven and firm-based, particularly on those that apply apprenticeship mechanisms. However, considerably less information exists on practices and challenges to the process of incorporating stronger WBL elements in a VET system that still relies mostly on school-based training provision. By using the example of the Świętokrzyskie region as a case study, this book aims to shed some light on the complexities surrounding this transition. The focus of the book is on addressing practical implementation challenges faced by employers and schools, within the existing regulatory framework. While strengths and challenges of the national regulatory and governance system are broadly identified, the emphasis of the book is on facilitating employers and schools with support ‘on the ground’ through sub-national interventions. The book aims to provide knowledge and guidance to stakeholders globally. The analytical framework and international approaches described in the book are expected to be applicable and relevant in a variety of contexts where VET systems are in place but where in-firm learning opportunities need to be strengthened. Moreover, it is assumed that the particular challenges and potential solutions that are identified for the Świętokrzyskie region will resonate with stakeholders elsewhere, and that the key recommendations for this particular case study can usefully be taken into account when designing interventions elsewhere.
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The report provides an overview of the challenges and recommendations to improve spatial planning in Poland. The project referenced in the report is part of the larger European Union (EU) Catching-up regions program, financed and managed by the European Commission (EC).
... Exibir mais + The scope of the Catching-up regions program is to work directly with less developed regions in the EU, and help them overcome development hurdles. In Poland, the EC implements the Catching-up regions program with the help of the World Bank, focused on topics including technology transfer centers, direct support to Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and improved vocational education systems. The Improved Spatial planning in Poland project is part of the second phase of the Poland Catching-up regions program, and it aims to determine both how spatial planning can be expanded and improved. The project focused on two regions in Poland (Podkarpackie and Swietokrzyskie), and on three types of issues related to spatial planning.
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